Am I Pregnant?

Maybe you’re trying to get pregnant and your nerves are shot as you hunker down for the two-week wait between when you think you hit baby bingo and your expected period. Or maybe your period is a few days later than usual. Either way, you’re dealing with tender breasts, fatigue and the mother of all mood swings.

Wondering if you might be expecting? Take this quiz to help answer the question: Am I pregnant?

1. Your period is two weeks late — and it’s usually as on time as a well-tuned Swiss watch.

Head to the pharmacy for a pregnancy test, stat! There’s a very good chance you’re expecting, though there are some other reasons for a missed period, so you'll have to see what the test results are and ultimately get them confirmed by your doctor.

2. You want to shut your partner in a closet and throw away the key ... and you have no idea why!!! Also, your (usually amazing) boss is the most annoying person you know. It’s a week before you’re expecting your period.

Stock up on the tampons and tissues: This sounds like a classic case of PMS-induced mood swings. While moodiness can happen in early pregnancy, it’s usually when you’re about four weeks pregnant — which means not yet. Hold out for another week or two. If your monthly visitor still hasn’t come to town, it’s time to try an at-home pregnancy test.

3. For the past week, you’ve felt like you’re going to vomit at the thought of fish — much less the smell of it — when it’s usually on your weekly menu.

Is your period a couple of weeks late, too? This could mean welcome to pregnancy! You may very well be experiencing the first throes of morning sickness (poorly named because it happens all day) due to changing hormone levels that make your sniffer more sensitive and relax the muscles of your digestive tract.

4. Yesterday, a couple of days before you expected your period, you had some light spotting and one big, period-like cramp. Now things are back to normal, no period in sight.

Still a bit early to say, but looks like you just might have experienced implantation bleeding — which is when a fertilized egg burrows into the endometrium of the uterus. Most women say it’s noticeably different from their usual periods and tends to be light pink or brown in color.

Early Pregnancy Symptoms

5. Ouch! Your boobs hurt like crazy … and your partner can’t get enough of them (they’re looking more voluptuous than usual lately). You’re expecting your period any time now, but it hasn’t come yet.

PMS is equally responsible for breast tenderness as an early influx of pregnancy hormones, so give it a few days. If your period still hasn’t shown up , it’s time to pee on a stick.

6. Whoa, what the heck is happening with your nipples? They’re suddenly a shade darker and a little wider, plus they're covered in weird little bumps.

Pregnancy is likely what’s happening! Changes to your nipples, including a darkening color, increased size, and tiny bumps (known as Montgomery’s tubercles, which lubricate your nipples in preparation for nursing a few months from now) are one of the most surefire early signs you’re expecting.

7. You’re as stopped up as Los Angeles morning traffic, and your period’s days late.

Snag a pregnancy test! That puffy, bloated feeling and constipation are often early signs you’re expecting, as the pregnancy hormone progesterone slows down your digestive tract. (Keep in mind, there’s also a chance it’s PMS in disguise.)

8. Ugh, you’re so bloated you can’t button your pants. (Confession: Yesterday you had baked beans for dinner.) Also, your period’s a few days away.

Maybe you shouldn’t eat beans? Sorry: Although bloating can be a sign of early pregnancy due to those changing hormones, it’s hard to say if it’s the culprit just yet. Give it a couple of days and see whether your period makes an appearance.

9. You need chocolate YESTERDAY, PEOPLE! Also, last night you couldn’t resist takeout from that stinky, greasy Chinese restaurant around the corner. Your period’s a couple of days away.

Probably no baby on the way just yet. Food cravings and insatiable hunger are a pretty sure sign your period’s on its way. During early pregnancy, most women — if they have any change in their appetite — are more likely to feel grossed out by even familiar foods as well as strong smells (like that Kung Pao chicken you had for dinner).

10. If a tractor didn’t run you over last night in your sleep, you sure as heck wish one would this morning, because then you wouldn’t have to go to work. You haven’t felt this tired since the day after you pulled an all-nighter for your chemistry finals. Your period is scheduled to show up tomorrow.

Here’s another one of those wait-for-your-period-and-see moments: Face-plant fatigue can just as often come with PMS as with early pregnancy.

So, are you pregnant? If this quiz actually made it all that much harder to decide, you’re not alone: Many of the signs of PMS are virtually indistinguishable from early signs of pregnancy. If you’re still waiting for your scheduled period to arrive, stick it out. If it hasn't arrived five to 10 days after it should have, take the only test that can tell you for sure you’re expecting (a pregnancy test, that is!).

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, What Are Some Common Signs of Pregnancy? January 2017.